Pleasure and Pain

Part II

 

Once upon a midnight dreary, 
while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

    While I nodded, nearly napping,

 suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered,
 “tapping at my chamber door—

            Only this and nothing more.

The Raven

-Edgar Allen Poe-

Since my experiment regarding the validity of the 'tap tap' use of Kyusho in self defense
was 'so rudely interrupted'  by the holidays, this segment has been delayed...

What we do know about the use of this style of defense is that it's effectiveness
is minimized, if not eliminated by body conditioning (iron shirt ect.)
If we throw  a conditioned mind into the mix, it's unlikely it's of any use at all.

When combined with Uechi Ryu as a foundation (delivery system); as demonstrated
 by Jim Maloney, Art Rabesa, Ed Hulse, Van Canna  and others 'in the know',
Kyusho acts like a kind of  'GPS'  for the Lamborgini of infighting styles.

My friend Denise is a blogger 'of the heart', she would say,

In life we either make good or bad choices.

 The bad ones bring pleasure for a little while but the pain always follows.

 The good choices may cause pain but our heart tells us it's right.
  Our way is not always the best way but,
 doing something right when no one is watching
Is a signature of our personal truth, our essence.

 The resulting 'feel good, feeling' empowers us for the next 'fight'. 

I find it somewhat empowering to believe that I have a functional 'GPS'
onboard when it's 'go time' but there is no substitute for 
old fashioned training and conditioning.

The Good Touch

In martial arts life and love we are all susceptible to the fantasy of 'the good touch'.

The old Kung Fu master touched his assailant, with no apparent effect. 

 Days later, the assailant died a sudden and mysterious death. 

 He was a victim of the legendary dim mak, the touch of death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar1yXYOsxQk#t=233

The Cantonese term 'dim mak' does not translate to 'death touch'.
A more accurate translation would be 'press artery'

There are pressure points on the body that when manipulated 
 cause immediate excruciating pain;
 also vital areas that require a small amount of force to inflict great damage.
As martial artists we are trained to protect these areas.

When it gets Intimate

Understanding the manipulation of these meridians allows for heightened awareness and
 states of arousal during intimacy actually creating a hungering for them.
This understanding leads to new sensations and/or states of arousal,
where we can achieve even more pleasure.


The Intimate Fighting Range

Though some pressure points happen to be located along arteries.
This does not make 'Dim Mak' synonymous with pressure point striking or grappling.
The 'Bubishi'  is the how and the where...

But is the practice of the how and the where a stand alone fighting STYLE ?

I think not .....
As a companion art I believe in the validity of Kyushu.
It's study is like a dictionary of striking points and methodologies.
As a stand alone defense system it's dangerous to believe in it's stand alone efficacy .

Martial Arts , Life and Love are all founded in part in Fantasy & Myths.
One such myth is that Kyushu alone will save you against a 'motivated assailant'.

Knowing how to hit,
 (boxing & kicking matrix, small circle ju-jitsu);
the development of interactive skills ie:
 movement vs firepower,controlling distance, 
set point control and aggressive defense,
ring generalship and controlling the pocket are hallmark attributes
 we train these attributes on a daily basis so as not to be vulnerable.